1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a disk device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a disk device in which a single motor is shared by a drive source for moving an optical pickup and a drive source for a slider.
2. Background Information
A disk device in which a single motor is shared by a drive source for moving an optical pickup and a drive source for a slider has been proposed. The drive source for moving an optical pickup moves an optical pickup at its operation mode position. The drive source for a slider moves a slider used to unclamp a disk that has been clamped by a clamping mechanism prior to the ejection of the disk.
To suppress unnecessary sliding displacement of the slider with this type of disk device, it has been proposed that a protruding part of a leaf spring formed integrally with the slider be made to exert pressure on a stopper rib on a fixed side (see, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2004-288333). It is stated in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2004-288333 that a single motor is shared by the movement drive source of an optical pickup and the drive sources of a slider. When the optical pickup is scanning a disk at an operating mode position, a rack of the slider is located across and at a distance away from a pinion that is driven by the motor so that the rotation of the pinion is not transferred to the slider.
There have also been proposals for improving the ease of mounting a disk in a disk tray of a disk device (see, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2004-241124), and proposals for carrying out the raising and lowering of mechanism units in conjunction with the operation of a slider more smoothly (see, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2003-141849).
FIG. 12 is an external oblique view of a disk device. FIG. 13 is a plan view of the simplified configuration of the main components of the disk device.
With the disk device shown in FIG. 12, a disk tray 2 is movably attached to a plastic chassis 1 made in the form of a frame. The insertion and removal of a disk (not shown) into and from the disk device are accomplished by opening or closing the disk tray 2.
As shown in FIG. 13, the chassis 1 is equipped with an elevating frame (mechanism chassis) 5 to which an optical pickup 3 or a turntable (rotating table) 4 are attached. This elevating frame 5 has at one end a support point 5a (indicated by a one-dot chain line), and has at the other end a boss 5b that is engaged with a cam groove (not shown) of a slider (cam slider) 6. When the slider 6 slides to the left or right as indicated by the arrow X, the boss 5b is raised or lowered by the action of the cam groove. This raising or lowering of the boss 5b raises or lowers the elevating frame 5 around the support point 5a. When the elevating frame 5 is raised, a disk that has been brought in by the disk tray 2 is accepted by the turntable 4 and lifted out of the disk tray 2 so that the disk is clamped between the turntable 4 and a damper 7, shown in FIG. 12. Conversely, when the elevating frame 5 is lowered, the disk is unclamped, the disk is transferred from the turntable 4 to the disk tray 2. The disk is then ready for ejection by the disk tray 2.
The movement of the optical pickup 3 at the operating mode position is accomplished by transmitting the rotation of a pinion 8a to a rack 3a of the optical pickup 3. The sliding of the slider 6 in the left and right direction X2 and X1 is accomplished by transmitting the rotation of another pinion 8b to a rack 6a of the slider 6. In this case, the operating mode of the optical pickup 3 is performed when the disk has been clamped between and rotated with the damper 7 and the turntable 4, and a single motor is used as the drive source for the two pinions 8a and 8b. Therefore, if no clutch or other path switching mechanism is interposed along the transmission path from the motor to the pinions 8a and 8b, some structures are employed for keeping the rotation of the other pinion 8b from being transmitted to the rack 6a of the slider 6 during the operating mode of the optical pickup 3.
With the disk device in FIG. 13, this is accomplished, by setting the shape of the cam groove (not shown) of the slider 6 Such that the elevating frame 5 will be raised and the clamped state of the disk will be maintained when the slider 6 has reached a forward limit position. The forward limit position is a position of the slider 6 where the meshing of the rack 6a and the pinion 8b will be released and the rack 6a will be kept across and at a distance away from the pinion 8b. 
Meanwhile, with the disk device in FIG. 13, the drive source for opening and closing the disk tray 2 shares the motor used as the drive source for the optical pickup 3 and the slider 6. A tray gear 8c, which is provided integrally with the pinion 8b that is configured to mesh with the rack 6a of the slider 6, is made to correspond to a rack 2a disposed at a back of the disk tray 2. As a result, the rack 2a is kept across and at a distance away from the tray gear 8c so that the rotation of the tray gear 8c will not be transmitted to the rack 2a of the disk tray 2 during the operating mode of the optical pickup 3. When a disk is brought in by the disk tray 2, the slider 6 is moved in the direction of the arrow X2 prior to the ejection of the disk tray 2. This movement of the slider 6 guides a protrusion 6b of the slider 6 to a sloped cam groove 2b provided on the back of the disk tray 2, and ejects the disk tray 2 slightly, which allows the rack 2a to mesh with the tray gear 8c. 
With the disk device described through reference to FIG. 13, in the operating mode of the optical pickup 3 when the elevating frame 5 is raised and the disk is clamped, the engagement between the cam groove of the slider 6 and the boss 5b on the elevating frame 5 side has the effect of preventing movement of the slider 6 in the X2 direction. On the other hand, there is inevitably a certain amount of play between the boss 5b and the cam groove (not shown), so the slider 6 may move in the direction of the arrow X2 due to vibration or the like. If this vibration happens, there is a risk that the rack 6a of the slider 6 will mesh with the freewheeling pinion 8b so that the rotation of the pinion 8b is transmitted to the slider 6, which results in the unintentional opening or closing of the disk tray 2.
The technology proposed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2004-288333 can be employed as a way of improving this situation. Nevertheless, the proposal in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2004-288333 is a protruding part of a leaf spring formed integrally with the slider to exert pressure on a stopper rib on the fixed side. Therefore, there is a risk that the protruding part may slide over the stopper rib and cause the unintended movement of the slider. Also, not only is it difficult to manage the dimensions of the leaf spring, but deterioration (flattening) of the leaf spring tends to compromise the operational stability of the spring. The same applies when the leaf spring is made as a separate part from stainless steel or another such metallic material.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved disk device. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.